Case



June 12, 1945.

P. H. WALLER CASE 1 Original Filed Oct. 18, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l Per" June 12, 1945 P. H. WALLER CASE driginal Filed 00%. 1a, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet Patented June 12, 1945 es' P s-m a942, *Sei'ial No; 447,710

-"3 Claiiins. (014217-12) concerned with means "'f oi connecting tbgether separate iiidi'v'itiuall pieces oishet materidr-suh as *blywoodjand the fva 'rious ccmp'ositisn boaiidS now availfable "onthefma'iket'. "The mvntin "ture to the connecting. togther of panels-of 'the various -'rri'eiteriails' "mentioned, so as to "promise closed or open cases, for various purposes. il 'he invention is particularly atpplieldle 'to "the t) 1ding of I cases which "are 'suhj sated "to "heavy, Eiiity', such, for example, :as ammunition a'fs'e's, gun

'll: is also a; purpose :of the inveiitionlt'o pfoiiide a structui'ewherebyseveral pahf ls 6f d am-senate size and shape maybe lo'cked"tdgether*in"a case form where no nails, "screws "or necessary, 'the case being so ppu't together, "that,

without special tools, it "02th he quickly kno" I downitito a series dfflatipieces of-panel "x'nfite I and strips'of'structurahiietiil that ma bvpafikefi compactly. v V H a plicat on is"a divisi'o' of-"'mycmpii jiiing application, Serial "No. '3'61;692,' filed October F 1 8,

' dfitlie side pa'nis 1940, for Structural joining of Walls forf'ce s'e's,

partitions, and the like. I I I I I "The invention as disclosed "hereinafter is a' a- 'ble "of a-muliip'iicity offus'es a d *afd'aptfa 'bn's tO en'iou's problems of ,cas e consti'u'cti on; 'the enumeration "o'f which would "be n ite "long is believed, "however, thht the etpplic'ation *0 present inventionftfo the'fWe-riou's giroblm's W1 1i 'be {apparent from the following -;lesc1iiitioh-, wherein su'fiicient e'XaI-mol'e's are shown to 311113- 'trate the scope and "aidaiptabillty'df the 'iil'Vi-Ffilli'fiin.

'It mustbe' understoodfihowev'er,that the d-rewr "Bir it-is pei'spctiiieW/itv showingfthe placirig Fig. 7 is a perspective View'illustietirigthecise -om 1e e' i, "Withthe ex'ciition "bf the audition iof'f' the cover and thefinal looking 'by -'n'ieens'6f an end c'b'rn e' e nnectiri biianriel' snd one (if "the top "connecting "'ch'al'iin'els Fht'ween the Cover and thesiiie; j i I Fig.f8'is 'a ip rspective' view "of-a "Veftical earner connecting channel Fig. 9 is an'fenlaig'edpeispectiue vie'wf s-ii'wing the upperiight-"hand "corner of; the panel which Fig. 11 is 'a De selective view one ofthw'ifii connecting chajrihel's which is utilized to c'cinnefc't the bottom a'ndthe 'c'over to the end ben els.

Referring "new in 'd'et'a jil "to the I drawings, the

s't be described "in "connection illustrated in Fig. i. I'hepij'sent i ve tidn, alth ugh hit in any sense "limited thereto, ispeirticuleily"abplieable ,t'o meson-emigtion *of knockdownca's'es'flo'aititions. forms "and and descriptionareillustrative only ens erenst and stage in building the, case *o'f fiig. l, where the end panels are being put in place;

I 'i'ritufm'edilips 20, similar to the lips '18.

ment .is essential and -\irl'i'ere the repea't'ed use of the structure, after being toin apart, is also a factor of economy and convenience. The case l-l) shown herein is utilized as an example of how the invention makes possible a, complete enclosure devoid of bolts, screws, or hails, yet ca-pable 'of repeated assembling and disassembling without damage to the vpanels Which "make up its walls. The case, as shown, may desirably he :made of plywood. It-com-prisese 'hottom panel l-l, two end panels l2 "and J3, two side panels I4 "and -l-5, and a' cover It. The 's'evial p'anels Fare connected together by connecting ."ichennel uni ts,.-thecross section of which is the same in every instance. Each connecting channel unit (see for example Fig. 10) compifises a. channelshaped ip'art l-l having inturned 1115s 18 opposite the hack, :to provide a restricted entrance into the channel. -Welde'd or otherwise suitably -se- "oured to the'channelll ise duplicate channel '59. set :atrig-h-t -;-ngles to the channel fiend hw'ihg Referring now to Figs' i'to 11, inclusive; assembly 6f the case 1 Will-be descriloed It will be ho'ted ithatrthe bcitt'omupanel M (Fig; 4); has

lting iturlinb/Hy extending *grnoves -2 I end 2 2' et the side edges thereof,- and transversely-extending grooves 23 and 24 at the end edges thereof. The grooves 2| and 22 are adapted to receiv two connecting channels 25 and 26. These connecting channels are of just such length that, when applied to the side edges of the bottom panel II, their ends terminate at the inside edges of the grooves 23 and 24. The channel 25 is shown in ultimate position in Fig. 4, while the channel 26 is being moved into position.

Referring now to Fig. 5, this figure illustrates the step of applying the end panels l2 and I3 to the bottom panel II. The end panels I2 and I3 have grooves 21 and 28 along their vertical side edges, and like grooves 29 and 3!) along their horizontal edges. In Fig. 11, the connecting channel utilized to connect each end piece, such as I2 or I3, to the bottom panel, is illustrated in detail. This connecting channel 3| has the bottom panel receiving portion 32 slightly longer than the end panel receiving portion 33, so that the portion 32, when mounted on the bottom panel I I, will reach to the side edges of the panel, while the portion 33 will terminate just inwardly of thegrooves 21 and 28.

In making a packing case such as is illustrated in Fig. 1, one of the end panels, in this case the panel I2, is shorter vertically than the other and has a channel-shaped finishing strip'34 which is merely a single channel I1 having its inturned edges fitting in the grooves 29 and at the top of the panel I2. The strip 34 is just long enough to cover the top edge of the panel I2 between the vertically running grooves 21 and 28.

In Fig. 6, the side panels I4 and I5 are shown to have been applied by sliding them into the upwardly facing channel portions of the connecting channels 25 and 26. These side panels are grooved adjacent the top and bottom edges by horizontally running grooves 35 and 36, and are grooved adjacent the end edges by vertically running grooves 31 and 38. The vertically runnin grooves 31 and 38 cooperate with the vertically running grooves 21 and 28 on the end panels I2 and I3 to receive the vertical corner connecting channels 39, 40, 4| and 42. For purpose of i1- lustration, th corner connecting channel 4| is shown in detail in Fig. 8. It will be noted that the side panel receiving portion 43 extends below the end panel receiving portion 44, since the end panel receiving portion 44 will rest upon the extended portion 32 of the connecting channel 3|. All four of the vertical corner connecting channels terminate just below the upper horizontally running grooves 35 and 36 of the side panels. The end panel I2 also terminates just below these grooves, but the end panel I3 extends up even with the top edge of the side panel I4 and I5.

The side panel I5 (see Fi 9) is cut out at its upper right-hand corner, a vertical groove or slot 45 being cut in alignment with the grooves 31 and 38 through the panel down to the horizontal level of the grooves 35 and 35. A horizontal slot 46 is then cut inwardly from the slot 45 along the horizontal line of the grooves 35 and 36 a distance equal to the depth of one of the channel elements I1. A narrow groove 41 is cut in the top of the panel I5 opposite the slot 46, so that a connecting channel, such as 3|, can be passed across a corner of the side panel I5 with the portion 33 being received by the slots 45 and 46 and the groove 41. I

The final assembly of the case, including the application of th cover I5, is accomplished by using two upper corner connecting channels 48 and 49 (see Figs. 3, 7 and 10). These channel members are cut away at one end to provide reduced extensions, as indicated at 50 in Fig. 10, and 5| in Fig. 7. The connecting channel 48 is first slid into place, as shown in Fig. 7; then the connecting channel 49 is slid in partly, as shown in Fig. 7; thereafter the cover I6, which is provided with upper and lower grooves 52 and 53 at its side edges (see Figs. 3 and '7), and upper and lower grooves 54 and 55 at its end edges, is moved into place by sliding it in the opposed channel portions 56 and 51 of the channels 48 and 49. The cover I6 is moved all the way in until the end thereof abuts the end panel I3. At this point an end corner connecting channel, such as is shown in Fig. 11, is moved into place across the upper right-hand corner of the side panel It with the end panel I 3.

panel I5, so that it effectively connects the cover The connecting channel 49 is then moved all the way in until the extension 5| thereof passes across the end of the portion 33 of the member 3| at the top of the end panel I 3. This looks the case so that the cover cannot be removed until the connecting channel 49 is moved outwardly and the connecting channel 3| on the top of the end panel I3 is completely removed to release the cover. A short protective single channel 58 is used at the back end of the cover I6 to cooperate with the channel 34 in giving a finishedappearance to the case.

The case as shown and described include the cover and locking means. However, the case is complete as an open top receptacle without adding the cover. Any suitable cover may b employed as desired. Also, any desired fittings may of course be employed inside and outside the case to adapt it for ease in handling and convenience in placement of materials therein.

The foregoing description is believed'to be sufficient to enable those skilled in the art to understand the invention disclosed herein and to construct and use articles and structures embodying the same.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: I

1. A knockdown case comprising a bottom panel, four upright panels and a cover panel, means separably joining the several panels comprising metal strips composed of two channels each having inturned lips opposite the backs thereof, the back of one channel being fixed to a side of the other, said panels having grooves in the opposite sides thereof parallel to and adjacent to the peripheral edges thereof in which the inturned lips of said channels are slidably secured and held against edgewise movement. there being four strips uniting the bottom panel with the four upright panels, four upright strips uniting the end panels with the side panels, two strips slidably connecting the cover panel with two opposite upright panels, and another strip connecting the cover with one of the other upright panels, one of said two strips which slidably connect the cover with two opposite upright panels having a portion overlapping said last named strip to lock it in place.

2. A knockdown case comprising a bottom panel, four upright panel and a cover panel. means separably joining the several panels comprising metal strips composed of two channels each having inturned lips opposite the backs thereof; the back of one channel being fixed to a side of the other, said panels having grooves in the opposite sides thereof parallel to and adjacent to the peripheral edges thereof slidably receiving the inturned lips of said channels, there being four strips uniting the bottom panel with the four upright panels, four upright strips uniting the end panels with the side panels, two strips slidably connecting the cover panel with two opposite upright panels, and another strip connecting the cover with one of the other upright panels,

one of said two strips which slidably connect the prising metal strips composed of two channels each having inturned lips opposite the backs thereof, the back of one channel being fixed to a side of the other, said panels having grooves in the opposite sides thereoi parallel to and adjacent to the peripheral edgesthereof slidably receiving the inturned lips of said channels, there being four strips uniting the bottom panel with the four upright panels, four upright strips uniting the end panels with the side panels, two strips slidably connecting the cover panel with two opposite upright panels, and another strip conn c g t e cover with one of the other upright panels, one of the upright panels with which the cover is slidably connected being cut out at the corner to provide passage .for said last named strip.

' PERCY H. WALLER. 

